Untrustable
by lefthand ritehand fish
Summary: The search for the Vault of Souls in the Spine is not going well. Eragon and Arya need help, but will the one person who can help them do so? Semi AU
1. Night

**I'm rewriting _some_ of my old stories first but will likely be moving onto new ones later. Hope you like the new version of Wild One!**

 **This is based my strongly off my original concept for this story than the previous version.**

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High over the Spine the moon was just rising as I surveyed the forest. It's light bleaching the colour out of the leaves. As they rustled like waves on the ocean. All seemed calm. A shivering in the leaves started low in a valley, the rustling getting louder, red and orange sparks popped in and out of existence, before a steady glow picked up. The fire's crackling was quiet but carried on the wind to my ears.

High in the tree tops I sat, splayed comfortably in the fork of a tree. Hearing the noise my head turned to see the glow and my eyes narrowed as I noticed it. Shifting to a crouch I watched closely as the red glow flickered. My mouth set into a determined line and I started moving silently through the tree branches toward the fire.

As I neared the fire, I stopped and watched the shadows move across the fire's glow, counting them. Once I was satisfied that there were only two people in the clearing, I resumed moving forward, though I could feel a frown forming on my face. It was unheard of for anyone to come so far into the Spine that I didn't know about much sooner than this.

As I reached the edge of the clearing I stopped and from my perch in the branches peered down. The small fire illuminated two figures sitting on either side of it. One male and the other female. They were dressed in comfortable and well worn clothes, patched here and there. Both wore sheathed swords and had bows lying near at hand, their other belongings were scattered around the clearing. As I watched warily from the trees, sizing them up, the man spoke: "How do we know this is not a fools errand? We've been here for weeks and still found not a hint of what we seek."

"Do not despair, Eragon. We were told that sooner or later _she_ would find _us_ , not the other way around. We must be patient." There was a lilt to the woman's voice I hadn't heard before. As she turned her head, the curtain of hair obscuring her ears shifted to reveal pointed ears.

 _An elf, something was wrong here. Elves were strong, fast and not easily dissuaded from the course they chose. It might be difficult to make these two leave, particularly if they were searching for something and not simply passing through. Not to mention that elves were rarely found outside their own forests._

"I know, Arya. But there is a war going on out there and we are no closer to winning as we sit here waiting for someone we don't know." The man's voice was frustrated, as though they had previously had this conversation many times before.

 _Someone?_ I leaned forward. It sounded like they were looking for me as no one else was likely to be here, at least not without my knowing. If they were looking for me then I knew what that meant, what they wanted from me. Deep in though about the implications of this, I shifted on the branch. Hearing it creak in protest I winced and looked down to see both faces eyeing me cautiously.

Cursing under my breath I turned and moved quickly away, distancing myself from them, hoping to lose them. What they were seeking I could never let them have.

Pain lanced in my head making me gasp. Someone was pushing at the walls around my mind. Unable to focus well, I drew her dagger and made for the ground where I would be able to move more easily and faster. Just as I reached it the man and woman reached me with their swords drawn.

* * *

If there was anything Eragon had expected it was not this. The girl was tiny, barely chest high to him. Her long dark hair fell in waves around her face and shoulders before curling slightly near her waist. She had an angular face and large eyes. In her hand was a razor sharp dagger that glinted in the pale light. Even as she winced in pain from their attack on her mind she looked fierce.

Seeing them catch up to her the girl hissed and narrowed her eyes before taking off into the undergrowth at a speed that was belied by her diminutive size.


	2. Hunted

**Hopefully you're enjoying this so far. I don't own Eragon etc.**

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Branches whipped past my face as I ran. My arms pumped by my sides and my lungs burned from the exertion. The dim light of the moon made it difficult to run quickly even with the practice and knowledge I had at doing so. Behind me I could hear the soft thuds of feet on the damp ground as the man and woman followed me. They didn't seem to be tiring at all and this concerned me. I might have to get creative to lose them else I might get tired first.

Their attacks on my mind hadn't waned and was definitely making it hard to focus on moving forward. The lances of pain accompanied by flashes of light over my vision. But still I kept on running.

More time passed and they were still behind me. Their footsteps seemed closer too, which was worrying. It seemed I would have to get creative to lose them.

Peering around I noticed I was near the Anora River. It might be just enough to lose them if they didn't expect what I was about to do.

The lead I had on them had shrunken to a few meters now, they might be able to see me now rather than just hear me. While the lead I had was small, it would be enough. It had to be. I was getting tired and had few other options. Getting caught was not one of them.

Running into another clearing I could hear the sound of running water. A dull roar underneath the panting of my gasping breaths and hiss of leaves as I ran past. I was close to the river now. Through the tree cover ahead I could see glimpses of moonlight twinkling on the water of the river.

Not pausing to second guess my plan, I ran full tilt into the water. The water was much deeper than I expected and much colder. Instead of being able to control my descent down the river I found my feet knocked out from under me and my head was pulled under the surface by the strong current.

The water was icy and moving swiftly so by the time I managed to kick my numb limbs enough to reach the surface again, I could only just make out two figures standing beside the river. They were no longer following me.

Smiling briefly in congratulations to myself, I then considered my predicament. The amount of rain from the last week must have been much greater than I had thought for the river to be this swollen. Escaping the current would take quite some time. Focused again, now that the strangers influence had faded from my mind, I began to kick my way across the water current toward the side. Not fighting the waters pull downstream, I knew getting out of the water would only be part of the battle. I would still have to walk a long way back upstream to to reach home while avoiding the outsiders.

Eventually I made it to the bank. Frantically trying to find something to hold onto, my hands brushed along the grass and a few loose tangles of branches before I felt the rough bark of a tree root. Gripping it with my cold fingers, my journey down the river halted, though water still tugged at me. Pulling myself out of the water with it, I flopped onto the ground with a gasp. Out of the water the icy chill in the air bit into me through my sodden clothes.

I needed to get warm. Shivers were running along my body, coupled with the light breeze it felt as if a thousand knives were piercing my skin. Regardless of if I was seen, I needed to make a fire. If I died from exposure it would be almost as bad as having been caught. Grabbing dry branches and some dried grass I quickly had wisps of smoke forming before it blossomed into a flame. Collecting some larger pieces of wood I then moved to sit near the gently crackling fire. Slowly, the chattering of my teeth stopped and steam rose from my clothes. Only when my shivering slowed did I have a look around at where I was.

 _I must be quite close to the edge of the spine, the river carried me an awfully long way._ Where I was sitting gave me a vantage point out over the edge of the spine into a valley. Below I could see the twinkling of lights in a village. A bitter smile crossed my face as I looked on at it. A normal life was the one adventure from which I had been forever barred.

Collecting myself, I began to plan my journey back to where I belonged. _At least I don't need to worry about the ones called Ayra and Eragon anymore._ They would be hard pressed to track me over this kind of distance.

* * *

Eragon stood on the edge of the Anora River with Arya by his side. He watched as water rushed past his feet, pushing at the banks of the river. When they had finally figured out that the Vault of Souls was in the Spine, he had been happy. Glad to have a reason to return. Glad even that they only had to find one girl and convince her to help them. But weeks into the search and having her do an insane jump into a river to escape and he was less certain he should be glad. He had yet to see a familiar sight in the mountains and the girl they searched for seemed to be intent on remaining hidden from them.

Sighing, he turned back from the water and headed back into the woods towards the campsite. It seemed they would be spending even more time camping out in the wilderness away from Saphira.

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 **Please review, I like those review things, they help inform my writing.**

 **I know updates are slow on this (and other stories) but I'd rather do it right than quickly.**


	3. Homeward

**I am sorry about how slow updates are. Hopefully I will get better at them soon...**

 **I do apologize if I'm not getting my characters quite right.**

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It had been three days since my trip down the river. Three brutal days of travelling with no supplies and little food. While I was used to living in the Spine just off what I could find here, there were still a few items I had that were not fashioned by me from my surroundings, like my blankets. Back in my treehouse I had a collection of woolen blankets woven from fleece I had acquired in handfuls from farmers flocks and the occasional lost sheep. Without blankets in winter it was bitterly cold and I was forced to resort to burying myself in the mud and leaves for some modicum of warmth.

Still, I was only a few hours away from returning now. I would likely arrive by mid-afternoon. Brushing the worst of the dirt off my skin and clothes I again began heading upstream towards home, dreaming of a good clean and warm soft blankets.

* * *

It had been three days since the woman had been swept downstream. Three long days of exploring the forest areas near our campsite. We hadn't found anything, or at least nothing you wouldn't expect to find in a mountainous forest. It had been getting colder the past few nights, with the dew freezing each night before morning.

Each day Arya and I continued to search the nearby forest at increasing distances in an attempt to find something. This morning I had tried something different. Reaching out with my mind as far as I could, sitting cross legged on my blankets as the fire's embers crackled in the morning light.

There was nothing to find. I had traveled these mountains myself only last year. Back when life was simple. It might not be too far from here that I found Saphira's egg.

Quelling my nostalgic thoughts I brought my thoughts back in and opened my eyes. Across the fire Arya was watching me, her luminous eyes were still deep pools of emotion I wanted to understand. Surprisingly. I could see hope in them. Somehow she still believed that we could find a way to win this war. To beat Galbatorix.

I was less hopeful.

Abruptly, I got up. My fears were much harder to deal with when I was just sitting around waiting, particularly away form Saphira. But she was needing to stay with the army to complete the fiction that Eragon was not away. With every day they risked exposure of their ruse and consequently the lives of the many soldiers.

I considered scrying Saphira but it would be unsatisfying as I would not be able to hear her words. Instead I nodded at Arya and moved away from the fire. Wanting to simply forget myself in running. Maybe luck might shine down on me too and I would find something that would help return us to Saphira. A grim smile briefly appeared at the thought.

Soon the leaves and branches were whipping past my face. I placed my feet carefully to avoid making noise, gliding through the undergrowth quickly. I could smell the moist earth and the hints of rain to come.

After a while I became aware of a new smell too. That of civilization- a combination of wool, herbs and smoke. Curious I followed the smell. It was strongest in a small clearing. I could hear the tinkle of a stream nearby. Nowhere could I see anything to suggest where the smell was coming from. Confused, I looked more closely at my surroundings.

One of the trees at the edge of the clearing was much larger than the others, both in girth and in height. It's roots crept across the grass in the clearing like veins. My head craned back to follow the curve of it's trunk. Twenty meters above my head where the branches began to thrust out over the canopy there appeared to be regular shaped holes going around the trunk. They resembled windows

Moving closer to the tree I examined it for a way to climb up and have a closer look. The bark was light grey and smooth to the touch, but nowhere could I find a handhold that would allow me to climb it.

Reaching my mind out I called _"Arya!"_

Only a few moments later I could feel her mind, concern was radiating from her _"Are you hurt?"_ she asked.

 _"I am fine, but I may have found the girls home. If you would join me."_ I sent an image of the tree to her along with my guess about the openings.

 _"I shall be there presently."_ Her mind then faded from my awareness.

When Arya reached the clearing and peered up at the tree, I saw surprise flit across her face. "How is this possible?" she said. "Trees such as this have only ever occurred in Du Weldenvarden. This shouldn't be here."

She moved around the tree, leaping gracefully between tree roots. After completing a full circle she placed her hands on the bark and closed her eyes.

A 'V' formed between her brows as she frowned in concentration. Then, uttering a sigh of irritation opened her eyes again. "The tree is hiding something, but I cannot see what. Certainly keeping watch here would not go amiss."

I nodded in agreement. We certainly would keep an eye on the tree as given how out of place it looked it was sure to be related to the Vault of Souls one way of another, be it through the girl or not.

* * *

My home tree rose above me. I took a few moments to check the wards that were around my home. None of them has been disturbed, though I had a feeling that someone had been there.

Regardless of if the tree had been found, it was highly unlikely that they would have found a way up so I was safe for long enough to have a sleep and eat some food.

Climbing the tree nearly, I lept across the gap and onto my home tree before using the hidden handholds to climb up to my home and bed.

Unbeknownst to me, two pairs of eyes watched my accent and settled down to wait me out.

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 **The type of tree I was considering as the treehouse was a New Zealand Kauri. Both massive in size and typically living to several thousand years old (try googling Tane Mahuta).**

 **The girl also has the ability to sense but not use magic.**


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